Real Friends
by The Mysterious Mr. D
Summary: A spiritual sequel to Bowling For Giveness. After the events of Blendin's Revenge and the Love God, Wendy noticed Dipper's absence the past couple of days. What follows is a confrontation on what friendship really means and how sometimes we hurt the people we care about the most. Mild WenDip
**First off, I would like to thank everyone for the reviews and faves of Bowling For Giveness. Being a massive WenDip shipper and liking things in patterns, I've decided to make a spiritual sequel to my last fanfic, which you're reading right here.**

 **It's not a direct sequel to Bowling For Giveness so whether you count it as canon or not for this one is up to you. Unlike it, where it was an alternate ending, this one is more of an epilogue and exploring the ramifications of** _ **The Love God**_ **as well as elements from** _ **Blendin's Revenge**_ **. This isn't meant to fit in with the events, but more of an exploration on how things could've gone.**

 **Critque and comment, everyone!**

 **Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and owned by Disney, who needs to wise up and give us the series set… or at least release Season 1 as a set first. Give Season 2 some months due to the finale.**

* * *

Wendy Corduroy was annoyed.

Granted, to those who knew her, this was not a surprise. Despite being a laidback young woman, she could frequently be annoyed or exasperated by the antics of her family or whatever her pet peeves were. Unlike most times, this occasion was weightier than the others.

Her friend, Dipper Pines, was not around for the past couple of days. This was news to her since she actually came in on time and stayed the whole shift for work. Stanley Pines was surprised, but he wasn't complaining since she was being productive. Only one other person noticed it. Mabel Pines.

"Hey Wen-Wen, what's the matter?" Mabel asked her as she gazed at her ennui-stricken friend at the counter. Wendy looked down to see Mabel's cheerful face. It did help to alleviate her stress, but it also provided her an opportunity.

"Hey Mabes. I'm just wondering… where's Dipper? I haven't seen the little dude since Gompers and Waddles' wedding," Wendy asked her. She didn't know what sort of reaction she was expecting from her. Maybe she would've blatantly told her in a cheerful manner. Maybe she would shrug it off as no big deal.

She did not expect Mabel's demeanor to turn sheepish and for her to frown.

Wendy's back straighten. Mabel's somewhat distressed posture and how she avoided eye-contact put the lumberjane on edge.

"Uhh… he just uh… he's been busy with stuff. Ya know… like for school and such," she said, doing her best to try and smile back and not concern Wendy. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect she intended. Wendy's concern became entangled with suspicion.

"Mabel, you know Dipper's my friend. If something is up, we gotta help," Wendy told her.

Mabel bit her lip. Normally, she would agree with Wendy, but this is one instance where Wendy was the problem. Well, she wasn't the problem, but the issue was surrounding her. Mabel recalled when everything began, around the reception for Waddles' wedding.

" _Come on, brobro! What's the matter? I knew the wedding wasn't your thing, but at least I put your favorite song for Waddles and Gompers to dance to," Mabel said, her glee evident as she found her brother sitting in the corner of the makeshift festivity. When she saw him, she that he had that sullen look when he was thinking about something._

" _I've just been… I don't know, Mabel," Dipper said as he took off his hat and put his hands on his face. Mabel's face went from happy to concerned as she saw that something was seriously gnawing on Dipper._

" _Is it about the whole thing with the Love God?" Mabel asked quietly. Both swore never to tell anyone as it would probably break up the group and get everyone mad at them. Mabel may not have liked lying, but she could keep big secrets under wraps._

" _No… well, it's, augh," Dipper sighed in frustration, a maelstrom of feelings swirling in his heart._

" _Back when everything broke off, I was worried that it was over," Dipper tried to say. He didn't know how to word this because he was still trying to understand what he was feeling in the first place._

" _Like, everyone got back together because of Thompson, but what if something like that happened again? I just… Mabel, those guys. They were some of our first friends… and I don't wanna lose them," Dipper managed to confess to his sister._

 _Both siblings didn't need to say anything. Mabel instantly knew what he meant. Back in Piedmont, they had each other… but not much else. Mabel was friendly with everyone and she had some people to hang around with, but even as a kid, she knew Dipper was lonely. It was hard for him to make friends and he desperately wanted people to like him._

 _Being in Gravity Falls allowed them to have fun in ways they couldn't imagine back home and Mabel met her two bestest friends, Candy and Greta…_

 _She would be devastated if there was a big fight that tore them up just like what happened with Nate, Lee, Robbie, Thompson, Tambry and Wendy…_

" _Come on, Dipper. I mean, things are better. Thompson manage to fix it," she said, trying to offer a consoling smile._

" _Yeah, but for how long? I mean, I know we screwed things up, but it looked like it was gonna happen anyway," Dipper added. "I mean, Nate didn't tell Lee, but told Robbie, even though they were best friends. Wendy and Tambry were best friends since five and this fight had Wendy madder than I ever seen her," he explained before letting out a breath. Both could attest to the latter statement, thanks to the time-travel shenanigans when they were trying to help Soos._

" _Remember what Wendy said back after we went into the bunker?" Dipper asked her. Mabel didn't remember much, but she knew she was overhearing it along with Soos. "About the whole thing being friends and the Bottomless Pit," Dipper clarified. Mabel nodded before it clicked. Was that wjat was bothering her brobro?_

" _I just… I need some time to think," Dipper said before he found himself in the embrace of his sister. Mabel was wordlessly hugged back, feeling her brother's noodle arms squeezing her for some much needed support._

Mabel was torn on what to do.

On the one hand, Wendy was like one of their best friends and meant a lot, but on the other hand, she could make things worse.

The entire time Mabel recalled what happened, Wendy observed the facial expressions of her friend and it just made her more and more concerned.

"Mabel, please. What happened to Dipper?" Wendy asked Mabel.

Mabel looked into her eyes. Mabel followed her heart. They couldn't dodge the issue forever, but Dipper was the one who needed to tell her.

"You need to talk to him about it. He's over in our room," Mabel said after a moment of silent thinking. She guided Wendy to the steps and showed her.

* * *

Wendy opened the door to see Dipper looking over the journal, totally engrossed. A faint smile appeared on her face for a moment.

"Hey dude. I think this is the first time I actually saw you guys' room," Wendy broke the silence, alerting Dipper to her presence. Dipper dropped the book as he saw Wendy was there. His concentration was broken and his focused demeanor switched into one of nervousness and sheepishness.

"Wendy? What are you doing here?" Dipper asked her. Dipper had been keeping to himself in a pensive state for the past couple of days. He'd avoid talking to anyone but Grunkle Stan or Mabel. Being so lost in his thoughts, he lost track of time.

"You were AWOL for the past couple of days and I was worried about ya," she said as she sat next to him.

Awkward silence returned to the room as Dipper wondered if Mabel had something to do with this. Then again, it was inevitable. Just like with the group of friends… Dipper's hand morphed into a fist and tightened.

Wendy adjusted them so she could look him in the eye and noticed his eyes were a bit red. Was he crying?

Oh, this was worse than she thought.

"Hey, come on, Dipper. It'll be all right. I'm here for ya," she said, trying to comfort him. She didn't recall seeing him like this since… the trip to the Bunker.

However, her words had the opposite effect of intended. Instead, Dipper's mind was flooded with images of their friendship breaking off for whatever reasons. Then he recalled how freakin lonely he was back in Piedmont and didn't want to go back to that state.

Wendy herself found herself surprised by just how… fragile Dipper looked right now. He looked like he was wrestling with something real bad. But she needed to know. She wanted to help.

"Dude, please, talk to me…" Wendy began.

"I don't wanna lose you!" Dipper suddenly shouted. She was taken aback by this. However, nothing could've prepared her for the look on his face.

Tears were beginning to steam down his face and his expression was one of concern, a little bit of anger and most painful of all, hurt.

"I don't wanna lose you, okay?! Back at the concert, I thought we were all gonna have a great time and then the thing with Robbie and Tambry happened! But that wasn't what bothered me! It was when everyone just got angry and left! Is that just it?! Even though we're all friends, is that what happens?! We all get mad at each other and it ends there?!" Dipper said. Any attempts of self-control was halted as Dipper began spilling everything that had been on his mind for the past couple of days.

"You and Tambry were friends since five, but you nearly broke apart because she began dating Robbie! Back at the bunker… you said that if I ever stopped wanting to be your friend… you'd go into the Bottomless Pit… But what if you wanted to stop being my friend?! What am I supposed to do?," he continued his rant. He didn't care. Everything was coming out and he was shaking.

"Do you why Thompson lets you guys pick on him so much? Because he knows what's it's like to not have friends! It hurts! It hurts a lot and it hurts worse when your friends ditch you and you're afraid of going back to that! The words may hurt… doing stupid things hurt… but, being by yourself and thinking no one cares about you or wants to be around you… that's the worst feeling in the world," he said.

"And Nate and Lee! They were best friends too, but one misunderstanding and boom, it was like it meant nothing! Is that what it is?! I just…" Dipper's mouth gave out. He didn't know what to say or what to do anymore. A horrible feeling of helplessness enveloped him as he couldn't stop the tears from going down his face. Before he could even wonder what she would say, he felt strong arms envelop around him.

Wendy heard enough and she couldn't bear to hear anymore. She didn't have any clue about this… about any of it. And that face… he was hurt. And it was her fault. She messed up and just how vulnerable he looked…

At the first opportunity, she cut him off. She held him tight, stunning him and breaking him from the rant and mental conflicts.

The brief silence seemed to last forever until Wendy broke it.

"I'm sorry," she muttered as she hugged him harder. Dipper hugged her back, unable to resist the support and comfort she was giving. He didn't take note of anything, but he felt her own tears dripping hit his shirt. She kept uttering the phrase over and over as the duo just sat there, holding onto one another for dear life.

Wendy was still hugging Dipper as she that he looked a lot more relaxed, but still embracing her. When she pulled back, she was surprised to see he actually relaxed enough to fall asleep. She gently moved and laid on the bed while she held him. From what it looked like, this whole thing was keeping him up.

Taking in the relative peace and silence while having Dipper with her, she began working out everything that happened. Maybe it was the entire emotional shock of what happened, maybe it was just Dipper's perspective, because ya know, he is super smart. Or maybe it was because she had a bit of time to rest, but she looked back at the concert and everything that happened.

She was mad at Tambry yeah… but she was also worried. I mean, she was her best friend and Robbie wasn't exactly the best friend when they were together, especially after the whole CD thing. But looking at it now, she probably could've handled it better.

Then her thoughts went to Dipper. She didn't notice she was tearing up until now. Her arms were in a vice-grip around him and his soft breathing was keeping her at ease. Each one of Dipper's words were being repeated in her head.

She didn't know much about the Pines twins' experiences back at home, but she got a hint that they didn't have a lot of friends. But for the first time, she was forced to consider what that actually meant. Even back during her awkward years, she had Tambry and she was this strong tough girl no one wanted to mess with. But Dipper… the dude has a big heart and when she thought back to the thing that happened back at that haunted store… she realized why he was trying so hard to fit in and did all that crazy stuff.

She meant what she said when she talked to Dipper back at the bunker. Neither she nor he liked to bring it up. She couldn't exactly recall when she realized that Dipper really liked her that way, but she wasn't bothered by it. She could handle boys that liked her and she could let them down easy, but Dipper was different. The fact that he saw her like this and did so much for her… it meant a lot to her. It still means a lot. Having to do a lot for her brothers and her dad, she didn't have a lot of time to do things her way and she savored doing whatever she could with her friends or here in the Shack. But with Dipper… he did whatever he could to make her happy, because she means that much to him.

She still tried her best to let him down gently. She was just too old for him and things seem to be okay between them. She recalled her first crush… a cute boy she met when she was 5. Of course, she tried to tell Tambry in secret, but she had to open her big mouth.

Wendy sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. Dipper's insight allowed her to look at everything that happened in a whole different way. The fight that happened was all because rather than try and talk things out, they just got stupid mad at one another and stormed off. Wendy didn't know or even suspect she was hurting anyone.

Next was how what Dipper said about Thompson. Suddenly, all the stuff they made him do and such didn't seem funny anymore. When she pictured Dipper going through the same, she didn't like it. And that led to Dipper himself. She hurt him… she didn't mean to and it was a big misunderstanding, but she still did. And she didn't notice until he had to spill his guts out.

Looking through all of this, Wendy came to a conclusion she didn't like.

She wasn't a nice person… or at least, as nice as she thought. She looked back to when she ditched Dipper at the carnival for Robbie or when she was gonna ditch Mabel. She cared about her friends and anyone who would hurt them was gonna pay. But what do you do when you hurt your friends?

After a moment, she made a decision. She gently stood up and let Dipper rest on the bed. She needed to make a phone call.

* * *

When Dipper woke up, he felt a bit lighter. However, he went back into a state of alert and slight embarrassment when he saw Wendy was sitting on the bed, looking at him.

"What happened?" he asked her after another period of awkward silence that seem to follow the boy. "I went to call my dad. I told him I was staying the night," she said. Now this caught Dipper offguard even more so.

"Huh, why?" he asked her.

"Because, we need to talk," Wendy began before she cut Dipper off gently, to let her finish.

"Back after you finished saying everything… I realized I wasn't being a good person. I ditched both of you a couple of times and then there was happened at the concert. I didn't think it was a big deal, but I was wrong. I never really felt that kind of alone like you did and I never really thought how I accidentally hurt you or anyone else," she began as she looked at him. She felt like she was confessing to something bad, but if he could get it off of his chest, she needed to do the same.

"Dipper, you're like my best friend. I mean, I know that's weird, especially since we only met this summer, but you're someone special. You're better than you think you are and I guess I'm just realizing I'm lucky to have you," she said with an honest smile. "I'm not gonna leave you, no matter what. And I'm being honest with ya, dude," she said. "Whatever you have to say, you can tell me. And I'll tell you stuff back," Wendy stated.

Dipper smiled a bit before looking distressed once more. He wanted to believe her… but…

"Everyone okay?" a third voice said. The door opened to reveal Mabel. She had a look of concern on her face. It was an hour since Wendy went up and Mabel went to check if they were okay.

"Yeah, we're just talking about what happened at the concert. What I did… I acted like a jerk and it wasn't fair to either of you," Wendy said to her. Mabel then turned to Dipper.

"Mabel… we have to tell her,"

"But-"

"We can't hide this. We owe her this,"

Mabel sighed as she closed the door and sat on her bed.

"Woah, what are you guys talking about?" Wendy asked them. Mabel looked really guilty while Dipper's anguished face return. She caught everyone, herself included, offguard when she reached for his hand to squeeze.

"You guys can tell me ," she said with a smile.

"Well, you see… the thing with Robbie and Tambry… it wasn't an accident," Mabel began. She began explaining to the older girl how she met the Love God and how she planned to get Robbie and Tambry together because of how they seemed to fit and with the potion. She delved into how they tried to fix the problem with an anti-love potion when they all went their seperate ways and how Thompson fixed things.

The twins looked with anticipation and dread at Wendy's reaction.

Wendy was more surprised than anything. Once she got over the shock of a legitimate love god existing, one who was a rock star and basically left their duties to the internet, she began looking back on everything. She couldn't get angry over what Mabel did. Mabel did everything with the best of intentions and she even couldn't help but go on a bit about why it worked, like how Robbie was the only person Tambry let call her Tambers outside of her parents.

Even if she wanted to blame Mabel, which she didn't, it wouldn't accomplish anything. Tambry and Robbie looked happier together than Wendy ever remembered seeing them. And she couldn't say it was fake or anything. It was her word against that of a cherub, even if he was a strange one who seemed like a parody of Mack Black.

"That explains a lot," she said as she tried to figure out what to say. "Relax, guys. I'm not mad. I guess I feel better knowing that things weren't random about it and I guess that the two are good for one another," Wendy admitted as she leaned back on the wall.

"Thanks for telling me," Wendy added, smiling. She looked at the two dorks that meant a lot to her. Thanks to them, she felt like she became a better person and they made the group more fun. Dipper smiled, looking a lot better and Mabel's own smile was infectious. As Wendy recalled everything, something bothered her.

"Wait… Dipper, how did you know that Tambry were friends since five?" Dipper blushed as he looked away and Mabel's smile became sly.

"Come on, brobro. We're not gonna keep secrets from her," she teased. Dipper looked at her. "Remember that guy you said you crushed on, back when you were five?" he asked her. Wendy raised an eyebrow. "The thing is… Mabel and I went back in time to try and find Soos's dad and…" he couldn't finish the statement.

Wendy's face became a slight hint of red as she put the pieces together. Looking back and focusing, she realized it was Dipper.

Her first crush was Dipper… and vice versa.

The entire ridiculousness of it all couldn't help but make her start laughing, which caused Mabel to start laughing and even Dipper joined in.

"Well, at least we know that she has good taste," Mabel said, causing Dipper to blush once more. Wendy looked back at him and she wondered… if she thought he was cute then… what if Dipper was older?

She decided not to think too much on that, but she did realize something. Dipper means a lot to her, even more than her friends and she shares stuff with him that was really personal and he did the same. He was gonna turn 13 this year and she was 15… in like 5 years, he'll be 18 and she'll be 20… which didn't seem weird at all.

But now wasn't the time for that.

"So what are you gonna do now, Wenwen?" Mabel asked her. "I don't know. I told my dad I was staying so I could talk with ya'll," she began to say before Mabel smiled with massive glee.

"Oh my gosh, a sleepover! It'll be your first time here too! I gotta get everything ready and such," she said before she sprinted downstairs. Dipper looked to her. "Stan said it was all right since I been actually working the past couple of days and he thought you could use some cheering up," she said, using the words her boss said.

Dipper smiled back at her as she placed his pinetree hat on him. "Come on, Dips. I owe you and Mabel a lot so we may as well get ready," she said as she got her own hat and went downstairs with him. Grunkle Stan was cowed into finding something for them to watch, but he did smile when he saw Dipper come down. They finally managed to clean the mess from the concert too.

"Glad you're feeling better kid," he said to him. Wendy looked to the group around her, with Soos having volunteered to stay and help with maintenance. She considered the Shack her second family, somethingt hat happened when she stayed with them for Summerween. They meant a lot to her. And while one she was still trying to figure how much he meant to her, she knew that she always wanted to by his side. And with them.


End file.
